ANDY MURRAY insisted he was proud of the way he fought to the finish after losing a five-set classic to the best player in the world.

In a stunning semi-final at the Australian Open, the British No.1 had three break points at 5-5 in the final set against Novak Djokovic. But the Serb showed his class to stay alive and then the killer touch to win his place in Sunday’s final against Rafa Nadal.

After four hours and 50 minutes the defending champion finally won 6-3 3-6 6-7 6-1 7-5.

Murray said: “It’s tough to lose. It was hard at the end to come back and get close to breaking. But I’m a different player, with a different attitude to this time last year. I’m proud of the way I fought. Above all, I’m proud of the effort.

“You never want to come off the court having any regrets or thinking: ‘Could I have pushed a little bit more?’ I couldn’t really have. I prepared as well as I could, I played as well as I could at this stage and did all the right things so I can’t be disappointed. I don’t feel like I’ve let myself down today.”

Djokovic said: “It was so close. It could have easily gone the other way.

“He was a couple of points away from winning the match so I was lucky.”